Finalists announced in the 2016 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition!

APRA AMCOS and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia (NRMTA) are proud to announce the finalists in the 2016 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition.

The judging panel was blown away by the quality of the entries received and had the unenviable task of narrowing the field from the 3,934 songs submitted.

With APRA AMCOS celebrating its 90th year in 2016, 90 songs made the shortlist, and are now in the running for the incredible A$50,000 first prize courtesy of APRA AMCOS and Alberts. Second prize is A$10,000 thanks to AMPAL (Australasian Music Publishers Association) and third prize is A$5,000 courtesy of sponsor, AEG Ogden.  All winners will also take home a microphone prize pack from Shure.

The competition had 2,412 applicants from 20 different countries who ranged in age from 82 years to 11 years.

The 90 finalists are a diverse group that includes established talent and new kids on the block across a variety of genres. Highlighting that range are the seven artists with two songs in the shortlist; Client Liaison, Emma Louise, Gordi, Katrina Burgoyne, King Social, Louis Schoorl and Oh Pep!

Other shortlisted artists include BIGSOUND buzz acts Middle Kids, Sampa the Great and Tash Sultana; recent triple j Unearthed High winner Gretta Ray; and well-known names like Abbe May, Jarryd James, Josh Pyke, Kevin Mitchell, M-Phazes, Ngaiire, Sheppard and Urthboy. 

Applicants paid an entry fee of $50 per submission with all money raised going directly to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia.  We are delighted to reveal that this year’s competition raised an astounding $196,700 from entries.  Another $3,300 was generously donated by a former recipient of the prize, taking the final amount raised to $200,000 for this very worthy cause.

The three prize winners will be announced on 27 October, 2016.

Without further ado, here is the 2016 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition shortlist in alphabetical order:

        Abbe May – Seventeen
Alesa Lajana – Birds Don’t Sing In Nashville
All Our Exes Live in Texas – Tell Me
Anders – As Before
Andrew Cavanagh – Is That Too Much To Ask
Aurelia – Chest
Auto – Brother Coda (Electric)
Ben Drysdale – Skid Row
Birdz feat. Jimblah – Rise
BRUVVY – Dire Love
Buchanan – Pressure in an Empty Space
Charlz – West LA
Citizen of the World – Setting Out
City Calm Down – Your Fix
Clea – Dire Consequences
Client Liaison – World Of Our Love
Client Liaison – A Foreign Affair
Deep Sea Arcade – Learning To Fly
Drax Project – Cold
Dustin Tebbutt – First Light
Elki – Soho
Emma Louise – Underflow
Emma Louise – West End Kids
Faint Capsule – Rancid
Finlay Tate  – I Want
Fragile Animals – Signals
Frank Society – October
Future Jr. – Tell Me That I’m Wrong
Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick – The Hallway of My Heart
George Maple – What So Not feat George Maple
Georgia Fair – Slave to Nothing
Good Boy – Transparency
Gordi – Nothing’s As It Seems
Gordi – Can We Work It Out
Gretta Ray – Drive
Gypsy & The Cat – Inside Your Mind
Haarlo – Love’s Gone
Hannah Robinson – Half Past Ten
Holy Holy – Darwinism
J Motor – Meet In The Sky
Japanese Wallpaper feat. Airling – Forces
Jarryd James – Claim My Love
Jordie Lane & The Sleepers ft. Lollies – America, Won’t You Make My Dreams Come True?
Josh Pyke – Be Your Boy
Just A Gent feat. Lanks – Heavy As A Heartbreak
Katrina Burgoyne – When I’m Broken
Katrina Burgoyne – Tryin’ To Get To Georgia
Kevin Mitchell – Lonely Cities
King Social – Hypocrite
King Social  – It Goes Around
Kirsty Lee Akers – Take me back
Lavers – Coast to Coast
L-FRESH The LION – 1 In 100,000
Lisa Crawley – Up In The Air
Lizzie Flynn – Prisoner in My Own Town
Lost Woods – Secrets in our Sleeves
Louis Schoorl – No More
Louis Schoorl – All This Time
Lucy Neville – Tease
M. Phazes feat. Thief – Hold Me Down
Maddy Rodriguez – Man Overboard
Matt Gresham – Survive on Love
Michael Walker  – Dreams – Could take you somewhere
Middle Kids  – Edge of Town
Mild Things – Good Girls
Morgan Bain – Why Don’t You Stay
NGAIIRE  – House On a Rock
Oh Pep! – Doctor Doctor
Oh Pep! – The Race
Panama – The Highs
Rachel Maria Cox – Zips, Netflix & Dinner For Six
Ruby Boots – Wrap Me In A Fever
Ruel  – Golden Years
Ruva Ngwenya – Me And You ~ #BLM
Sammi Constantine – The Game
Sampa The Great – Blue Boss
Shake Your Blood – Fox Amongst Bears
Sheppard  – Sorry
Starley – Call On Me
Taasha Coates/The Audreys – When I Die
Tash Sultana – Notion
TBC (Jordi White) – I’ll See Her Again
The Brown Wunda – It’s Our Time
The Creases – Impact
The Lulu Raes – Burnout
The Paper Kites – Revelator Eyes
Tia P. – 4 Seats From Beyonce
Tinpan Orange – Ordinary Lives
Urthboy – Daughter Of The Light
Why We Run – Hallway